A number of types of human touch responsive power control systems are known in the prior art. Some of these are typically found in various household appliances available on the market, such as in dimmer controls for adjustable intensity lamps. One such system is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,519 "Incremental Touch-Operated Switch" isued to the present inventor and assigned to the same assignee as this application. Other such systems and touch operated switches typical of the prior art are described in the patents referenced in the aforementioned U.S. Patent.
In my above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,519, I provide an apparatus for controlling the application of an AC voltage to a load in which the width or duration of a pulse is controlled by the amplitude of a control voltage which is at least partially a function of the capacitive sense signal. While this system represents a substantial improvement over the prior art, the system as disclosed includes the sensing and application of certain parameters in analog rather than digital form. In most of the prior art systems of this general type, a substantial proportion of the signal processing utilizes analog methods as opposed to digital methods. While digital methods offer certain advantages, a substantially fully digital system having a simplified and reliable mechanization capable of being economically manufactured has not been available.